About the campaign

Every year over 7,000 people under the age of 25 in Wales ask for help with homelessness.

That's why we have launched our campaign to end youth homelessness within 10 years in Wales.

When people think of homelessness they usually think of people sleeping on the streets, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Young people are often homeless because it is not safe for them to stay at home, or because family life has become too hard. They are often sleeping on sofas, on floors, in cars or, worse still, with strangers.

Many of these young people have experienced traumas in their childhoods and have developed a range of complex needs. Our research shows that homeless young people are three times as likely to have a mental health issue as their non-homeless peers. Around a quarter of homeless young people have been in care, and often have little choice but to deal with the challenges of living independently at a young age.

To end youth homelessness in the next 10 years is a massive task, but we believe we can do this if we all work together.

We launched the campaign with the support of Hollywood actor, Michael Sheen and Wales' First Minister, Carwyn Jones, who said:

We believe we have a wonderful opportunity here in Wales to deliver real change. If we can put a man on the moon, we can surely end youth homelessness in Wales.

The campaign brings together key figures and organisations who are just as committed as we are to making change happen. These include leading academics, senior national and local government official and elected members, businesses and third sector agencies. Young people who have experienced homelessness will sit on our youth forum so that we can learn directly from them about what needs to happen to end youth homelessness in Wales.

As part of the campaign we are commissioning research to understand more about the causes of youth homelessness, analysing how young people are falling through the cracks of existing services, and learning from best practice around the world in ending youth homelessness.